Building



Dec. 5, 1944.

H. s. JoHNsoN BUILDING Filed July 1o, 1942 s Smets-sheet 1 5206/2/27ifo/215022 v Dec. 5, 1944. H s JQHNSON 2,364,220

BUILDING Filed July 1o, 1942 e sheets-sheet 2 Dec. 5, 1944. H. JOHNSON dJuly l0, 1942 Dec. 5, 1944.

H. s. JOHNSON 2364,22@

BUILDING Filed July l0, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 5,. 1944. H. s.JOHNSON BUILDING Filed July 10, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec.. 59 1944.. H.s. JOHNSON BUILDING Filed July lO,

1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 five?? r' m er. @a

Patented Dec. 5, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUILDING- Herbert S.Johnson, Chicago, Ill.

Application July 10, 1942, Serial No. 450,425 1 claim. (ci. 257-8) Whilecertain features of this invention may be adapted for buildings ofVarious kinds, it is particularly directed to houses and means forheating, cooling and Ventilating the same.

It has been suggested or found that humans have a feeling or sensationof cold when in a room, not merely on account of the coolness of theair, but because their bodies tend to radiate heat to cold walls whichare good conductors. By heating or slightly warming the walls, thetendency to lose heat will be reduced and humans can then be comfortableat relatively low temperatures of from 50 to 60 degrees. Therefore, lbyheating the Walls, the room temperature may be comfortably kept at amuch lower degree, and furthermore, by providing means for heattransference, the rooms may be heated by heat supplied to the walls.Experiments have indicated that when the walls are warm, personsentering a room having a temperature of approximately 60 degrees Willfeel that the temperature is at least 75 degrees.

In accordance with this invention, I provide a building having means forheating the same, by having all of the heat supplied through the walls,similar means also :being provided for cooling the rooms Without havingany of the air used for heating or cooling, enter the rooms. I alsoprovide means for Ventilating rooms with air which is entirely separatefrom that used for the heating of the rooms. Means are also provided forcontrolling such air used for ventilating, so that rooms may be entirelyclosed so that they may b'e occupied and the .persons in the house maybe protected against gas raids or other outside contamination of theair.

The objects of this invention are, as indicated, to provide an improvedhouse or building with novel means for heating or cooling the same; toprove new and improved ventilation for a house or other building withmeans foi` controlling the same; to provide insulation `for cer- .tainof the Walls or wall members; and to provide such .other advantages anddesirable features as will appear more fully from the followingdescription.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of myinvention, t

Fig. 1 is aperspective View;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the roof vand other parts removed to showthe construction above the rst oor ceiling;

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the positions of the openings or conduitsthrough the ceiling;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view with the section or ceiling shown in Fig. 3removed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the basement with the first iioorremoved;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the basementceiling removedand illustrating certain portions of the heating, Ventilating, andcooling apparatuses;

Fig. 7 is a View of the roof as seen from the lower side, showing therafters or supports and also portions of the air ducts or passageways;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional View taken approximately on the line 9-9 ofFig. 12;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially on the line I-l ofFig.V 12;

Fig. 11 is a detail illustrating the air cooling apparatus andconnections to the circulating system;

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially on the line l2-l2of Fig. 9; and

Fi-g. 13 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the line |3-l3 ofFig. 12.

As shown in these drawings, l 5 represents generally a building of anysuitable kind or construction embodying this invention, it beingunderstood that the drawings are merely illustrative of the same andparts have -been shown diagrammatically or omitted for convenience inillustration.

The building as shown is a one story house having a basement I5, rst oorIl, attic or garret i8 and roof I9. The house is provided with the usualdoors or entrances, stairways, and the like, which, however, are notessential parts of the present invention. The principal lighting,however, is Ifurnished through corner Windows 20 which jut out from thebuilding and are made ldouble so that they maybe securely sealed.

Fresh air is supplied for Ventilating the rooms through a plurality ofinlets 2 I, see Fig. 12, which are placed in any convenient positionsbelow the floor 22 and which have inlet openings 23 preferably providedwith screens or filters 2d for removing dust or dirt from the air. Theinlets lead to grates 25 or registers in the floor which are providedwith any suitable controlling shutters. Fans 26 are positioned in theseveral inlets for forcing the air into .the rooms. This Ventilating airpassesffrom the several rooms through outlet openings 21 in the ceiling28, best shown in Figs. 12 and 13. These openings lead to outlet ductsor passageways 29 which are all connected Witha.

vertical vent 30 that extends above the roof and is preferably providedwith a hood or cover 3 I. It will be particularly noted that the air forbreathing or ventilation is in no way connected with the heatingapparatus, and the arrangement is Preferably such that the fans may beused for forcing air into any one or all of the rooms as desired.

The heating and cooling system or method of heating and cooling thebuilding forms one of the most important. features of this invention. Inorder to secure the sensation of comfortable temperature in the roomsincident to warming of the walls, as above suggested, I provide meanswhereby not only the walls but the floors and ceilings of the rooms maybe heated or cooled as desired. In order to accomplish this, the wallsare made double with inner wall members 32 and outer wall members 33.The inner wall members which enclose the rooms are preferably made asthin as practicable and of suitable material for transferring heat, suchas sheet steel or other metal. The inner surfaces of these inner wallmembers may be painted, enameled or otherwise treated ir order to give adesirable iinish. The outer wall members 33 are provided with insulation34 in order to prevent the loss of heat to the outer atmosphere to thefullest possible extent.

The air spaces 35 around the walls of the building provide passagewaysfor the heated or cooled air as will presently be explained. A space 36is left between the floor 22 and the basement ceiling 31 for the passageof air. The attic or space I8 above the ceiling 28 also provides apassageway for the air. It will be understood that the necessarystructural members are provided for supporting the various parts of thebuilding and baille plates (not shown) may be provided in any of thespaces for deflecting or distributing the air. Any suitable means may beused for heating or cooling the air in the spaces around the rooms ofthe building. In the construction shown, I provide a hot air furnace 38which is preferably positioned in the basement I6 and which is providedwith an outlet flue or chimney 39. The furnace has an air jacket 40 forreceiving the air to be heated which enters through an inlet opening ororice 4I The air passes out from the jacket or heating chamber 40through a plurality of ducts 42 which lead to the space 36 under thefloor. 'Ihis space is directly connected with the side passageways 35which in turn lead to the attic space I8 so that the heated air may passfreely from the furnace to the attic and in so doing will pass aroundall of the rooms of the building. An air return pipe 43.1eads from theattic down to the inlet orifice 4I thus .providing for a completelyclosed circuit for the heatedair and none of such air enters anyfof therooms. Fans 44 may be provided in the seyeral ducts 42 to force the airupwardly fromy the furnace and another fan 45 may be provided for thepipe 43 to draw the air from the attic and force it downwardly throughthe return pipe. The ducts 42 preferably lead to different rooms in thebuilding and the fans and valves 48 provide means whereby any one roommay be supplied with hot air without forcing the same around the otherrooms. This arrangement whereby the house is divided into sections, asfor instance, the four rooms shown in the drawings and means providedfor positively circulating the air around one section independently ofthe other sections is of extreme importance in the successful heating ofthe house. It is well understood that if natural draft is depended uponfor the circulation of air in a house or building,

the results are uncertain and unsatisfactory.-

The direction of the wind is an important feature to be considered inthis respect and oft times it is practically impossible to heat one sideof the house even ifthe other side is overheated. In other words, it isessential to provide means such as I have shown and described in orderto confine the circulation of the heated air to one portion of the houseand to force such circulation in order to insure the movement of the airthrough the necessary channels or passageways for heating such section.With my improved construction, it is possible by utilizing the properfan and opening or closing the proper valves 48, to heat one cornersection of the building which may be on the normally cold side or sidefrom livered to the other sections and yet provide comfortabletemperatures.

If desired, air from the attic may be permitted to pass to theatmosphere through an outlet pipe or vent 46 (Fig. 13) which has a valve41 for controlling the same.

The rooms may be cooled by substantially the same system as used forheating, the cool air being supplied in place of the hot air. If thebasement air is sufliciently cool, it may be permitted to enter theducts 42 through inlet openings having doors 48 which may alsobe swungin to act as valves in the ducts, as shown in Fig. 6. The cool air ofthe basement may be forced through the various passageways around thewalls by means of the fans 44 and 45 as heretofore described, or ifdesired, some or all of the air may be vented to the atmosphere throughthe vent 46.

If further cooling or air conditioning is desired, a. refrigerator orair cooling machine 43 as shown in Fig. 1l may be placed in the basement with its outlet 50 connected with the ducts 42 and its inlet 5Iconnected with the down pipe 43 whereby the cooled air may be circulatedthrough the vsystem in substantially the same manner as described forthe hot air.

From this description, it will be seen that I provide means for warminga building whereby substantially all of the walls as well as the floorsand ceilings of the rooms will be heated or cooled in the mostscientific and etllcient manner to provide comfortable living conditionsfor the occupants. Furthermore, by having the air heating systementirely independent from the air ventilating system, the heated air maybe continuously circulated with but comparatively little loss of heatand without any likelihood of contaminating the air in the rooms.

The air supplied for breathing may be kept fresh and will not be driedout or dehumidifled by being heated. 'Ihe Ventilating system may also beclosed in the event that the air surrounding the building becomescharged with gas,

smoke, dust, or the like, and will thus protect the also for otherbuildings without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.Therefore I do not wish to be limited to the particular constructions ormethods herein shown and described except as specied in the followingairpassageways connected with the air passageways of the side walls, thepassageways of the walls also communicating with the attic, means forregulating the temperature of the air, a. plurality of ducts from thetemperature regulating means leading to the several air spaces below thesections, fans for circulating the air through the Arespective ducts, a.common return pipe leading from the attic to the temperature regulatingmeans and means for controlling the circulation around any of thesections, as desired.

HERBERT S.4 JOHNSON.

